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Worldview: Can You Put Your Faith Into a Logical Explanation?

Were you able to answer last week’s worldview questions—

  • What’s your worldview?
  • Why do you believe what you believe?
  • Who’s had the greatest influence in your life, and why?

Perhaps you were able to write down what you believe in several sentences, even though you might not have been able to put a title to the worldview philosophy it fell under.

But I’m going to guess that answering Why you believe what you do might be tougher to answer.

 

 A story of worldview failure and the lifelong negative effects—

I once asked a friend why she’d become an atheist, and she revealed to me that one day in Sunday School class, when she was a little girl, she asked her Sunday school teacher: “Why do you believe that? How do you know that’s true?” The answer she received from her Sunday school teacher was less than affirming, or confirming, and it would have a lasting, dramatic affect on my friend’s life and faith.

What was the teacher’s answer?

“I just know it’s true.” That’s it. No defense, no apologetics, no explanation to satisfy the thoughtful curiosity of a very inquisitive child. (My friend would go on to become an investigative journalist). My friend claims she was so frustrated and disgusted that she lost all faith in God or Christianity, because, as far as she could see, even her teacher didn’t know why she believed what she professed to believe. Thirty years later, my friend still had a tone of disdain in her voice for that teacher, who definitely let this seeking little girl down. With a thud.

 

What’s the moral of that story?

The Apostle Peter provides it in his first personal letters to Christian believers. The Amplified Bible gives a great, thoughtful rendering—

“But in your hearts set Christ apart [as holy—acknowledging Him, giving Him first place in your lives] as Lord. Always be ready to give a [logical] defense to anyone who asks you to account for the hope and confident assurance [elicited by faith] that is within you, yet [do it] with gentleness and respect” (1 Peter 3:25).

 

The CEV version gives it to us short and sweet:

“Honor Christ and let him be the Lord of your life. Always be ready to give an answer when someone asks you about your hope.”

 

But many of us can’t put our faith into a logical explanation. Or we use a lot of Christian-speak that flies right over the head of unbelievers. They end up looking at us with glazed eyeballs, no closer to the truth than they were before asking us. Or, worse yet, they wind up moving farther away from a life-saving faith!

Because we’re not always ready to give an answer to someone when they ask us about our hope. We can’t give a logical defense for our beliefs. And you can imagine what that leaves them thinking about those beliefs and us.

Throughout history there have been a lot of thinkers and writers whose beliefs and teachings have had a profound impact on us. When they philosophized about life, their thoughts usually centered on God and His existence, or non-existence. Their beliefs have colored our world without us being aware of it.

When my friend didn’t get the answer she was seeking, she sought knowledge elsewhere. These thinkers colored her worldview and shaped her beliefs. They provided—what seemed to her—to be cogent answers to life’s big questions. And these thoughts have been guiding her life and decisions for decades.

 

Next week—

We’ll begin looking at 19 of the most well known thinkers and philosophers of all time and will specifically explore what these men thought about God in human history. Your knowledge of their thoughts, conclusions, and how they intersect, or diverge from, God’s word is important for living a true, well-balanced life.

 

 

But let me leave you with several questions to ponder before I sign off:

 

 

  • How would you have answered my friend? When she was little? Now—as an adult?
  • Have you taken Peter’s instructions to heart? Are you ready to give anyone who asks a logical explanation for your faith when they ask about it?

 

Thanks for joining me! I’d love it if you’d take a moment to make a comment! And please share this post with a friend you think might be interested in the topic. Maybe someone you’d love to enjoy a philosophical discussion with!

 

Until next week,

may you always be ready to logically explain your faith and hope—in much joy, gentleness and thanksgiving!

 

Blessings,

Andrea

May you prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers (3 John 2).

Photos courtesy of Google Images

7 Lessons Learned From a Near-Death Experience

If you had a near-death experience (NDE), what kind of lessons do you think you’d learn from your heavenly visit? Lessons you’d eagerly tell others about once you’d returned to the land of Earth-dwellers.

Would it be the incomparable beauty of Heaven? The exquisite reuniting with friends and loved ones who’d gone ahead of you to their heavenly reward? Would you want to be able to see and describe what Jesus, and God look like?

 

A personal experience—

Dr. Mary C. Neal, an orthopedic/spine surgeon—who says she experienced a NDE—wanted to share the lessons she learned from her experience and does so with thoughtfulness, cogency, and grace in her recent book 7 Lessons From Heaven: How Dying Taught Me to Live a Joy-Filled Life.*

 

I first read about her account in Guideposts’s Mysterious Ways magazine a couple of years ago and found her experience intriguing. As a fellow health professional, I appreciated her honesty about being a pragmatic skeptic, which initially kept her from telling her story. Then I heard her on Eric Metaxas’s Show (radio program) a couple of months ago and was drawn to her gentle grace and humility. So I jumped at the opportunity to hear her speak in person at Tucson’s Good Friday Breakfast program on March 30.

She was just as humble in person. She didn’t pretend to be a theologian; she only told what her personal experiences were. And she understood where the skeptics were coming from, having been one herself before her NDE event. I snatched up several copies of her book.

 

Book overview—

In the beginning of the book, she gives a brief recounting of the Chilean kayaking accident that took her life and sent her on a journey to heaven. Her original book, To Heaven and Back: A Doctor’s Extraordinary Account of Her Death, Heaven, Angels, and Life Again, which was on the New York Times bestseller list for more than a year, covers this event in detail. After an overview, she intertwines her story with the lessons she learned.

One big lesson is that she still had work to do here on Earth—one of them being to tell her story, which she initially dragged her feet on doing—even though she didn’t want to leave Heaven.

Another insight the Lord gives her is that her precious son will die early, which did happen. (I’m not spoiling anything here; she gets to that event early in the book.)

I don’t know if I could handle being given that kind of information. I’ve heard people the premonitions they’ve had about losing one of their children or loved ones, but it takes a pretty incredible person to deal with it the way she did. Yet, it almost seems as though God gave her that information to prepare her heart for the event, which itself was a merciful blessing.

 

Some lessons learned—

Some of the priceless, life-altering lessons Dr. Neal learns are:

  • Life Goes Further Than Science—which was a big surprise to her, and will be to many to others
  • Miracles Are Always in the Making—even though too many of us dismiss that fact
  • Angels Walk Among Us—even though we might not know it
  • God Has a Plan—even if we can’t see it
  • Beauty Blossoms From All Things—just as Scripture says it does
  • There is Hope in the Midst of Loss—here, she speaks eloquently and emotionally, with the authority of experience

 

Then she explains how we can all live with absolute trust in God and our heavenly future. And it’s that living in absolute trust that she told us at the Good Friday Breakfast changed her life and way of living more than anything else. Trust. I plan to print that out in HUGE bold lettering and tack it on the wall of my study, so I am confronted—and comforted—by it everyday. It’s something I always need to be reminded of.

 

Are we physical beings with spirits, or primarily spiritual beings temporarily clothed in physical bodies?

This question would be a great discussion all by itself, but I won’t tell you in this post what Dr. Neal’s assessment is. I’ll save that for you to mull over and then read about in her book. You won’t be disappointed.

 

The answer could profoundly change the way you view, and live your life!

 

Another plus in this book—

Dr. Neal has a “Reading Group Guide” with some great chapter questions, so you might want to consider it for a Bible study or book club read. I know it will challenge some of your perceptions about theology, life, death, the afterlife, miracles and Heaven.

But isn’t it great to be challenged! It’s something the Lord does to us all of the time.

 

Until next week,

Happy Reading!

Andrea

May you prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers (3 John 2).

 Photo courtesy of Google Images

*You can learn more about Dr. Neal at: drmaryneal.com

Why Knowing Your Resting and Exercise Heart Rate is Critical to Good Health

What do you know about your resting and exercise heart rate? What should you know? Were you able to get an idea of what your normal resting heart rate is when you established some baselines for your vitals a couple of weeks ago? (See April 4th’s post: Welcome to Workout Wednesdays! http://andreaarthurowan.com/2018/04/04/welcome-to-workout-wednesdays/admin/ )

Before we get too far down the road with a discussion about heart rate, let’s start with the basics, so we can continue laying those important health and fitness tip brick foundations!

 

Heart Rate basics—

While you probably know what your resting heart rate measures—how many times your heart beats in a minute—do you know what that number actually tells you about your heart and your health?

Simply put, resting heart rate tells you just how hard your heart is working while at rest to supply your body’s oxygen needs. Just how many times does it have to contract in a minute to squirt blood through the pipes to get your body oxygenated for plain old activities of daily living, or sleeping, or sitting in a chair watching television?

 

Two more things your resting heart rate can tell you—

  • Reveal your risk for heart attack, and
  • Reveal your aerobic capacity—the amount of oxygen your body is able to consume, or the heart’s ability to pump oxygenated blood to your muscles.

 

As your oxygen supply needs change throughout the day, your heart will speed up or slow down to accommodate those needs. Or at least it should. What is “normal” for you, though, will depend upon your age, gender, and fitness level.

According to a Harvard Women’s Health Watch on-line article titled “What Your Heart Rate is Telling You,” says a 2010 Women’s Health Initiative study report indicated that a lower heart rate in post-menopausal women might protect against heart attacks. Those having a resting heart rate of 76 beats per minute (bpm) or greater were 26% more likely to have a heart attack or die than those having a resting heart rate of 62 bpm or lower.

They recommended having a chat with your doctor if your resting heart rate hovers consistently above 80 bpm. (For further reading, see the link at the bottom of this post.)

It’s also a good idea to take your resting heart occasionally (don’t just rely on a one-time measurement) so you can determine how, and if it’s changing. If you see a sudden change from what’s “normal” for you, it’s a good idea to discuss this with your physician. It may be a symptom or indicator of something going on with your heart or vascular health.

 

What you need to know about maximum heart rate in exercise—

Your heart rate usually rises during intense workouts, prolonged long-distance (aerobic) exercise workouts, stress and illness. Your heart’s maximum heart rate is the rate at which your heart is working at its hardest to supply oxygen to your body. In exercise, this is the rate that can only be sustained for several minutes.

Your maximum heart rate is a function of that aerobic capacity we already mentioned. When an exercise physiologist measures it, she’ll write in terms of VO2 max and actually measure the volume of oxygen you move through your lungs during exercise. To get an exact measurement, it’s a complicated, messy process of actually breathing into a tube during exercise, collecting your breath in a bag and then analyzing that volume through a special machine. The more conditioned you are, the higher your VO2 max usually is.

 

How do you calculate your maximum exercise heart rate?

Ever go to the gym, hop on a treadmill or stationary bike and see the maximum heart rate formula and exercise intensity graph to indicate where you should be exercising for your age?

The basic formula is: 220 – your age x 50 – 70%

Start with the number 220 and then subtract your age from that. If you’re 40 years old, it will be 180 bpm. So what does that tell you? It tells you that 180 bpm is the highest heart rate number you should obtain while exercising at your maximum level. But you’ve already seen that the maximum level can only be, and should only be, sustained for no more than several minutes.

So, unless you’re planning to exercise for just two to three minutes, how do you decide what heart rate you should be exercising at?

Well, it really depends upon what you’re trying to achieve. We’ll delve into those specifics in a future post, but, in general, you could aim for 50- 70 or 80% of 180. So the formula would look like:

 

Max HR formula: 220 minus your age multiplied by .50, .60, .70, or .80

 

If you’re aiming for middle-of-the-road, new exerciser level, that number would come in around 90 bpm. Doesn’t sound very high, does it? But it can be a sound level to aim for if you’re an exercise newbie, or just getting back into the swing of things following an illness.

HOWEVER, that formula is NOT the most accurate or desirable formula if:

—You are in good physical condition.

—You have a low resting heart rate.

 

So what is the most desirable formula? We’ll explore that in next week’s post, when I’ll give you that critical formula to help you better judge and develop your personal exercise intensity. *

 

 

One more (GREAT) reason to strive for a lower heart rate—   

 

 

If lowering your risk of having or dying of a heart attack isn’t enough, maybe this other finding noted in Harvard’s article might give you a nudge to lower your heart rate.

 

“… a small controlled trial demonstrated that men and women with mild cognitive impairment who raised their aerobic capacity also improved their performance on tests of memory and reasoning.”

 

In later posts, you’ll learn more about how physical exercise doesn’t just help the body but improves brain function! And who doesn’t want to have a better, sharper brain?

 

 Trivia Question?

Which athletes are notorious for boasting the highest VO2 maximum measurements? (You’ll learn the answer next Wednesday!)

 

Until next time,

Blessings for prosperity in all things—emotional, physical and spiritual!

Andrea

 

*You should always check with your doctor about what your target heart rate should be if you’re taking medication for a heart condition.

Link: Harvard Health article “What Your Heart Rate is Telling You https://www.health.harvard.edu/heart-health/what-your-heart-rate-is-telling-you

Photos courtesy of Google Images

How Well Do You Know Your Own Worldview?

If I asked you the question “What is your worldview?” how would you respond? You might be able to shoot me an answer right away, or maybe you need to think about it before responding. Or you might ask me to elaborate. So I’d ask, “What thoughts have shaped your view of the world?” And then I might ask who shaped your thoughts? Which philosopher, teacher, politician, social media personality, or Hollywood star?

 

Are you and original thinker?

Most people believe their opinions are their own, but that’s seldom true. How many of us, really, have original thoughts? Most of the time our beliefs are molded over years of listening to other people, and then shaping them as we live our lives and allow others to influence us. If you have doubts, ask someone why they believe what they believe, and you often get a blank look, a pause, stutter, and an “I don’t know.”

 

What do you believe and why do you believe it?

It all comes down to where you get your information.

 

 A Philosophy Timeline

Throughout the ages, men have emerged to influence people’s thinking and way of life. For a variety of reasons—good writing and speaking skills being two of them—these people have risen to the top of the sea of mankind, to speak boldly, affect men’s opinions of the world state of affairs, and perhaps change history by gaining a small following that sometimes manipulates or coerces others into believing what they believe. Pretty soon mob mentality reigns, and you have a social revolt that ends up changing the political landscape in a country or hemisphere.

Today we’re going to get an overview of some of the most well known philosophies in human history. Why is all of that important? Because every writer and teacher approach their subject with some type of worldview, or a casserole of worldviews. And it’s in the reader’s best interest to be able to identify what that worldview is and how it could affect, or manipulate theirs.

 

 In the beginning…

 Deism—It seems clear from ancient writings that most, if not all, civilizations, practiced some kind of religion with the foundational believe that there was a god, or some spirit(s) that controlled the universe or at least influenced it to some degree. It has only been fairly recent that atheism has crept into the philosophy list and is practiced with such devotion that many now call it a religion.

Classicism—Then the Greeks came along and turned philosophy into an art form and verbal sport. They became masters of deep thought and debate. Their cogent, articulated beliefs and government structure continue to influence western society and politics. As a philosophy, though, true Classicism seemed to have run its course by A.D. 500, when

Christian Theism—This worldview had overtaken the Greek and Roman world and spread like wildfire across Europe. For better and sometimes worse, (because of the way he did it), the emperor Constantine had a lot to do with that.

Middle Ages—(which were not as “dark” as some would like us to believe) This period roughly spanned A.D. 500 – 1600. The primary belief centered around Christian Theism, which suffered its own ugly and embarrassing gyrations, until European Romanticism arrived on the scene.

Renaissance—1600 – 1865. This is the period when art and exploration and human movement exploded. It’s also the period of time when the Age of Enlightenment emerges. Although Christian Theism and Deism are still big players in world thought, they start seeing increasing competition from Transcendentalism, also known as American Romanticism.

Our Present Age of Hodge Podge: 1865 – Present. Since 1865 we’ve experienced an increase of offerings on the worldview smorgasbord. These entrees include Naturalism, Realism, Absurdism and a revival in Theism.

 

Worldview Confusion

With all of these philosophies battling for our attention, it’s easy to see why we get so confused and unhinged about our worldview—the beliefs we hold dear and deep in our hearts and souls.

These philosophies have seeped into our politics, journalism, and entertainment. They’ve been given catchy names to lead us to believe they’ve got the right idea about how we should live life, and it’s our responsibility to sniff them out, dissect them, and then keep what is right and good, and trash the rest.

 

Because you are a product of what you read, who and what you listen to, what you watch, and where you live, where you get your information matters.

 

We all need to be selective. Your life and time are the most priceless commodities God has given you. Who will you allow to shape your life and take your time?

 

 

And how would you answer the question: Why do you believe what you believe?

 

 

 

Coming up!

Next week, which is part two of our worldview foundation building, we’ll start looking at 15 movers and shakers in world philosophy.

 

For your week:

You might want to have some fun this week by asking other people these questions:

What’s your worldview?

Why do you believe what you believe?

Who has had the greatest influence in your life, and why?

 

In fact, please drop a comment in the comment box to let me know who your greatest influencer has been and why. And it doesn’t have to be Jesus.

Until next time!

Blessings,

Andrea

May you prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers (3 John 2).

Photos care of Google Images

Looking for (and Finding) Streams in Your Desert

Water is a commodity here in the Southwestern desert. We highly prize it and nearly collapse into giddy convulsions when the heavens unleash it onto the desert floor during our summer monsoon. So whenever you happen upon it here, it’s like finding a pearl of great price. You lap it up emotionally and spiritually, and always physically, since dehydration looms as a potential health hazard for desert-dwellers.

And doesn’t that sound like an analogy of life?

 

Have you ever been in a desert time of your life?

We all traverse times of plodding through what feels like an emotional and spiritual desert. We live in “a funk” as a friend of mine calls it. Many of us experience deserts containing some scraps of life, while others can’t seem to locate a shred of nourishment anywhere. We stumble through life, pursuing mirages and coming up dry. We’re in a hurry to get through it—believing it has nothing valuable to teach us—and look in all the wrong places for life nourishing water.

Or we wait and wait and wait for the water to come to us.

 

 Knowing God’s promises about the desert

Sometimes what we need to do is trust, listen, and look for it, recalling what God proclaimed to the prophet Isaiah:

 

“Listen carefully, I am about to do a new thing. Now it will spring forth; Will you not be aware of it? I will even put a road in the wilderness, Rivers in the desert” (Isaiah 43:19, Amplified Bible).

 

  • First, God calls us to listen.
  • Then he tells us he’s about to do a new thing and describes what it will be.
  • He cautions us to be aware of it, looking for it.
  • He tells us he’ll provide a road in the wilderness;
  • and make rivers to flow in the desert.

 

I thought a lot about that passage, the pricelessness and spirit-infusing joy of finding water in the desert this last weekend after hiking in Sabino Canyon, a recreational area near our home described as “a desert oasis.”

The engineer and I could have parked ourselves at the bottom of the canyon and waited for the water to flow to us. But that would have been an exercise in futility because rain is rare here this time of year, and that day the early rising sun quickly burned away the threadbare cloud blanket and heated up the canyon walls.

Instead, the engineer and I went in search of the water. Rather than attempt to carve out our own road, we took the path provided. We actually pulled out a map to follow. We hiked and ascended and eventually arrived at the prize—melted mountain snow water cascading down chiseled and glossed granite cliffs into clear pools. Pools large enough to toss your body into and paddle around in. Seven waterfalls and trickles stacked at the end of a boxed desert canyon. A source of life and refreshment to wildlife, plants, and people.

After claiming a spot at the edge of one of the pools, a pool that had already been claimed by a pair of male Mallard ducks—who thought they’d scored big when we fished around in our fanny packs and extracted two energy bars for a snack they hoped we’d share with them—I unlaced and dragged off my Keen hiking boots and wooly socks and slid my swollen feet and throbbing left toe into the crystal clear, COLD water.

My feet were grateful for that water, my eyes and brain were grateful for that water, and my soul screamed internal heaven-sent hallelujahs for it. I could have sat there for hours, intermittently soaking my feet, watching the ducks beg, paddle around lazily and leave rippling wakes behind them. I could have watched the cloud wisps putter across the powder blue sky; the rock faces change shape in the pool reflections; the saguaro cactus cast short, shorter and then lengthening shadows across the cliffs they miraculously find enough nourishment to grow in; the candy apple red cardinals fly up-down zigzag patterns from one shade-providing mesquite tree to another.

 

 Can you avoid a desert time?

But the frustrating reality was that I couldn’t stay up there indefinitely in that seven-pool nirvana. I had to walk back down the canyon away from it. And that’s the way life functions for most of us too.

We can’t avoid it. For whatever reason, life or God himself orchestrates a desert time in our lives. Moses fled to the desert after he murdered a man and hid there for forty years before God called him back to Egypt to free his people. Bible teacher Dr. J. Vernon, McGee quips that Moses was getting his Backside-of-the-Desert degree. While that always gets a chuckle, there’s a heap of truth to it.

Jesus went into the wilderness for forty days. We don’t know what he experienced every day on his journey, but we do know Satan harassed and tempted him when he seemed to be at his weakest.

Without trying to sound crass, I’d say the experiences toughened both of them up for what lie ahead.

Elijah the prophet orchestrated his own trip to the desert when—terrified—he ran for his life from the evil Queen Jezebel and ended up being ministered to by God. Elijah managed to find a hideout near a flowing stream, his personal stream in his desert. Through that experience, I’m guessing he learned a lot more about God’s mercy and compassion.

Jesus, Moses and Elijah all learned a lot during their desert time—about God and about themselves. We learn about them and God through our reading of these events.

You can learn a lot during your desert time, even while searching and waiting for the water God promises to give you.

 

 How are you handling your desert time?

Usually we need to lean into our desert time, without trying to fight it or run from it. But then we need to make sure that we don’t get mired in it. Stuck in our parched wilderness.

Some questions I invite you to ask yourself to make your, or someone else’s desert time productive. The counsel of a friend (you) could be just what they need right now, a life-replenishing river in their desert.

 

  1. Are you experiencing a desert time right now in your life, and how are you handling it? Could you be encouraging and supporting someone you know who is experiencing one? 
  1. Are you trusting wholeheartedly in God’s promise to provide you a “road” out, a river of spiritual life at the end of your desert journey? 
  1. Are you asking God what he’s trying to teach you during this desert time, so you don’t have to stay there any longer than necessary? 
  1. Are you asking him to reveal the road out? 
  1. And are you actively searching for the life-giving water?

 

Care to Share?

I’d love to hear how you handle your desert times. If you’d like to share, just head over to the Blog page to leave a comment you can share with others. W want to help each other successfully traverse our desert times.

 

I pray you spend your time rejoicing in God’s promise of providing a road out, a road leading to a temporal and spiritual stream in your desert, and the heaven-bound road you’ll traverse when your time on Earth is done!

Until Monday!

Blessings,

 Andrea

May you prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers (3 John 2).

 Photo 2018 © Andrea A Owan